For more information, contact Community Relations Manager Marie Elliott at 314-340-4524 or 314-486-4203

February 28, 2008 12:00 AM

Missouri and Illinois Agreement on New Mississippi River Bridge

ST LOUIS - Missouri Governor Matt Blunt and Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, along with the Missouri Department of Transportation, Illinois Department of Transportation and dignitaries and officials from both states, announce that an agreement has been reached on the New I-70 Mississippi River Bridge. The bridge will have a significant impact on transportation in the St. Louis region connecting Missouri and Illinois, as well as enhance travel and economic opportunities for the metropolitan area.

The agreement will build the New Mississippi River Bridge in the location originally approved by Federal Highway Administration in 2001, which is one mile north of the Martin Luther King Bridge in north St. Louis. The new bridge will have four lanes, two lanes in each direction, with room to expand to six lanes. The New Mississippi River Bridge will carry Interstate 70 traffic from Illinois to Missouri connecting I-70 at the I-55/I-64/I-70 interchange on the Illinois side to I-70 near Cass Avenue on the Missouri side. The new bridge will not be a toll bridge. Design for the project will begin immediately. Construction could begin as early as 2010 and last four to six years.

The New Mississippi River Bridge is expected to reduce severe traffic congestion and vehicle crashes on the Poplar Street Bridge (PSB). Currently, PSB carries combined traffic for Interstates 55, 64 and 70. In 2004, traffic counts on the PSB average between 115,000 and 125,000 vehicles daily. By 2030, projections are that the PSB would carry more than 150,000 vehicles daily if no additional major river bridge crossing is constructed.

The reduction of vehicles from the Poplar Street Bridge to the new I-70 Mississippi River Bridge is also expected to reduce travel delays, enhance safetyand sustain economic growth and development in St. Louis and Illinois.

The total project cost for the New Mississippi River Bridge is $640 million:

· Bridge is $306 million (MO=$93 million and IL = $213 million)

· Missouri roadway connection = $70 million

· Illinois roadway connection = $264 million

Public meetings will be held this year in Illinois and Missouri to provide details on the New Mississippi River Bridge. Visit www.newriverbridge.org/ for more information on the New Mississippi River Bridge.

Editor's note: For more information and visuals on the new bridge please visit the MoDOT Newsroom.